


Method To Our Magic

by randomsquid



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 1990s, Abusive Dursley Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exploring London, F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Figuring out how to do magic, Gen, Harry kinda gets kidnapped by a group of homeless magical muggle born teenagers, Harry runs away, I'm stealing the entire Zoo scene, Kidnapping?, Kinda?, Learning how to do magic, M/M, Muggles, No Sexual Content, Racism, Racist Language, Runaway, So its gonna be mostly OCs, Sorry JK Rowling, Sorry Not Sorry, The other characters don't show up until way later in the fic, The wizarding world is a mess and all their laws are stupid, Wandless Magic, magic is emotions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-04-27 10:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14423964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomsquid/pseuds/randomsquid
Summary: Harry Potter disappeared on the 23rd of June, 1991.or:The one where Harry gets inadvertently kidnapped by a bunch of muggle-born magical teenagers who don't know about the wizarding world and decide "You know what? You are getting raised by us now."





	1. An Outstretched Arm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flamethrower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamethrower/gifts), [Aeternum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeternum/gifts).



> don't let your dreams be dreams.

 

The reptile house was very nice. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can -- but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.

Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. "Make it move," he whinged at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. Out of the corner of Harry’s eye, he could see a zookeeper, a tall man with black wavy hair, striding across the room, heading in Uncle Vernon’s direction.

"Do it again," Dudley was saying. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. Harry watched as the zookeeper's eyes narrowed in anger, and he pointedly took a step back from his uncle and cousin. 

“Hey, you!” The employee called, marching over. “Stop tapping on the glass, it disturbs the animal.” 

Uncle Vernon turned around in surprise, but then let out a huff, “I wouldn’t be tapping on the glass if this damn snake were more interesting!” He sneered, crossing his arms over each other, “What’s the trick, boy, how do you make it move? Make it do something.” 

The keeper’s lips tightened into a thin smile that did not reach his eyes, “I am sorry sir that I cannot help you. I am very sorry that the reptile house is not to your liking, sir,” The man bit out, “We take all of our customers' opinions into account, as our customers are very important to us.”

Uncle Vernon glared for a moment at the employee before huffing annoyedly, evidently deciding that the man’s performance was satisfactory, “Yes, boy, you’re damn right I’m important. Should've known someone like you couldn't help me...” Grumbled Uncle Vernon as he turned to wander to the other side of the room, Dudley and Piers following right behind.

Harry went back to look at the large snake, sighing in relief that Uncle Vernon hadn’t put up a fight with the employee. Harry glanced up at the reptile keeper, who was still standing with his arms crossed in front of the enclosure. Harry didn’t know whether he should apologize for his Uncle’s actions or not, or if he should say anything at all.

“Er, do you know a lot about snakes?” He ended up blurting out. 

The employee’s gaze jerked down towards the boy and Harry silently cursed himself for even opening his mouth. But then, the man blinked and the frustrated expression was replaced with an open grin.“Yeah, I know pretty much every critter in the reptile house. This one here is a baby male red-tailed boa constrictor, a species native to northern Brazil,” The employee beamed down at the large snake inside the enclosure. 

“He’s just a baby!?” Harry exclaimed. The zookeeper chuckled, bemused by the boy’s reaction.

“Yup, he’s about sixty centimeters right now, but we predict he’ll get to be about one and a half meters long by the time he’s an adult. And even then, that’s small for his kind. Some boa constrictors can get to be three meters long.” The zookeeper smiled gently as Harry carefully leaned up close to the glass.

“Heh, you’re a shorty, like me.” Harry said to the snake, smiling, “Sorry about my uncle and cousin earlier. They’re not very nice people.” 

The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. Harry stared, eyes wide as its head tilted to the side.

“Hello,” he murmured, hesitantly smiling, “My name’s Harry, what’s your name?”

The boa constrictor eyed Harry, then shook its head sadly. 

"You don’t know your name?” Harry cried, eyebrows knitting together, He turned back to the zookeeper, “Does he not have a name?”

 It was at this point that Harry realized the zookeeper was staring at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“D-did you-“ But as the keeper spoke, a deafening shout echoed through the reptile house.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" 

At Piers’ shout, Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. "Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. 

What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened -- one second, Piers and Dudley had their faces pressed up to the glass, the next, they were falling forward and into the water of the enclosure. 

Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. The zookeeper let out a yelp as the snake slithered out of its enclosure. His eyes were filled with shock and confusion, and then, strangely, a dawning realization. It was just a flicker of an expression, so fast it was barely seen, but Harry had seen it. 

 “SNAKE ON THE LOOSE! SNAKE ON THE LOOSE! SNAKE! SNAKE IN THE REPTILE HOUSE!” Somebody screamed, and the moment was broken as the reptile house erupted into chaos. 

People screamed and started running for the exits. Dudley and Piers were shouting and crying from the inside of the snake enclosure. Vernon Dursley was fighting against the current of the crowd, shoving people to get across the room.  

“BOY!” Uncle Vernon yelled when he spotted him, his face red with anger, his pudgy arms reaching out. Harry’s eyes widened as Vernon grabbed at the neck of his baggy gray jumper.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SON, FREAK? YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD HAVE A LITTLE FUN SCARING HIM? NOW LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” Uncle Vernon yelled, hauling him off the ground and up to eye level, shaking Harry like a rag doll.

Harry grasped at the collar of his t-shirt as it dug into his windpipe, “I didn’t do anything, I didn’t do it!” He coughed out. 

“LIKE HELL YOU DID! WHAT, DO YOU THINK IT DISAPPEARED ON ITS OWN?!” Uncle Vernon spat, and his grip on Harry tightened until he could hardly breathe. Harry couldn’t think. His legs flailed, feet kicking out, and finding purchase in Uncle Vernon’s soft gut. His uncle let out a grunt, curling inward as the wind was knocked out of him. Harry’s feet touched the ground and he took that opportunity to move.  

Lifting his arms upward, Harry shimmied out of the baggy jumper, slipping out of Uncle Vernon’s grasp. Vaguely, he thought he heard the sound of fabric ripping, but he couldn’t think about it right then. Dodging the pudgy arms of Uncle Vernon, Harry did the only thing he could think of doing.

He ran.

He ran out of the reptile house, out into the open, the sunlight blinding him for just a moment, Uncle Vernon was screaming after him. He ran through the crowd, under the arms of adults, cutting across the lawn to get to the other side of the zoo. 

“Hey! You! Wait! Stop!” He ran faster, diving into the first open door he saw, which happened to the zoo’s public lavatory. He opened the door to the first vacant stall, propelled himself inside, and locked the door behind him. He shut the cover of the toilet, and sat down, pulling his feet up onto the seat. 

His breathing was coming in hard ragged breaths, and it felt like his heart was being out of his chest. As he fought to control his breathing, he strained his ears to listen for the bellowing shouts of his Uncle Vernon.  

Outside, he could hear the screaming of parents and children alike. The snake, apparently, was still on the loose. Uncle Vernon’s voice, however, was the loudest above all of them, screeching like a bird as he searched for his nephew.

Settling his head down onto his knees, pulling in large breaths of air, Harry fought not to think about what was going to happen next. He hadn’t meant to kick his uncle, he really really hadn’t. What was he going to do now? He couldn’t just stay in the bathroom forever. Eventually, Uncle Vernon would find him, and then...and then…

Harry knew what would happen when they got home. He would be blamed, as usual, for something he didn’t even do. He would be shoved into the cupboard immediately. Maybe if he stalled a bit, maybe if he said he needed to go the restroom, maybe he could slip out and get into the pantry without any of the Dursleys noticing. They would punish him for stealing if they found out, but that would be better than going hungry for two days in the cupboard. He should’ve planned ahead for this before they went to the zoo. They never took him anywhere, of course something was going to happen-

“Hello?”

Harry’s thoughts froze. He hadn’t noticed the door opening. Was the entire bathroom empty? Maybe if he just stayed quiet the person would go away-

“Hello? Are you in here?” 

The person knocked on the stall door, and Harry jerked involuntarily. His breathing was coming in rapid pants, and he tried to stifle it with the back of his hand. 

“Hey, hey, are you in there? I’m not gonna hurt you. Are you okay?” The voice said, and at this point, Harry recognized it as vaguely familiar, but he still didn’t move. Underneath the gap in the stall door, Harry could see that the person was wearing black trainers and a pair of yellow-brown khakis. 

“I just want to talk, I won’t hurt you, everything is okay. You’re not in trouble, I promise.”

Harry shifted on top of the toilet seat. He could probably jump up and over into the other stall and bolt out of the restroom. Probably. But also, probably not. Most likely not. Maybe he could throw something into one of the other stalls and make the person think that he was there-

“Everything is okay, I won’t tell your dad where you are, I just want to talk. I promise.” The voice was small, and quite. Reassuring. Non-threatening. Harry didn’t trust it, but...he wanted to. It could be an elaborate trick by Dudley or even Piers, but… But, it could also not be a trick. Harry wanted it not to be a trick.

Slowly, Harry set his feet on the ground and stood. Very slowly, he reached up and grabbed the lock to the door and cracked it open just the tiniest bit.

And he saw the face of the zookeeper. 

“Hi,” the man said, raising an awkward hand in hello. Harry slowly pushed the door open a little more at the sight of the familiar face. 

“I saw what happened out there, are you alright?” The zookeeper asked, kneeling down to be eye level with Harry, despite the water on the lavatory floor.  

Harry nodded stiffly, hands wringing in the cloth of his red t-shirt. He could see now that the side of the t-shirt had been ripped up the seams. He must have torn it when he slipped out his jumper. “I’m fine,” he mumbled.

The employee nodded and smiled softly,“My name is Leonel. Your name is Harry, right?” he asked softly. Harry nodded again, opening the door a little wider. 

“I’m sorry about the snake,” Harry blurted out, shrinking back a bit from the door’s opening. But instead of getting angry, Leonel just chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it, it was actually pretty amazing.” The employee assured, and Harry’s eyes widened, taken aback.

“W-what? But, the snake-”

“Yeah, if I wasn’t so surprised at the time, I probably would’ve laughed my guts out.” The zookeeper smiled,“That glass trick was pretty sweet, kid.”

Harry jerked back, he thought— No, why did he ever think—“What-no, I’m sorry, I really am, but I didn’t do anything! I swear-”

“No, no, it’s okay kid, it was an accident, I know.” The zookeeper smiled widely,“I know because I can do it too.”

Harry stared. 

“You can do what too?” He asked slowly.  

“Magic.” The zookeeper—Leonel smiled, “You’re a magician, kid.”

“I’m a what?”  

“A magician,” Leonel stated with a mad grin, and Harry, deciding that this man might just be a tiny bit crazy, started to close the stall door. “No, wait, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-here, look.”

Harry paused in his action and watched as the zookeeper fumbled with his jacket. Reaching into his pocket, Leonel pulled out a small green pen. Harry quirked an eyebrow and gave the zookeeper an incredulous look, but the man just smiled and closed his eyes. 

And the pen began to _change._

Slowly, the green pen warped in size and shape; The base of the pen growing into a stem and sprouting leaves, and the tip of the pen becoming a bundle of delicate red pedals. The transformation took only a second, one moment the zookeeper had a held a simple pen, the next moment: an actual rose. 

Harry gaped and Leonel smiled at his expression. “You’re like me, kid. You’re special.” 

Harry gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he thought what to say, “No, you don’t-you got it all wrong.” He finally forced out, “That’s amazing. I can’t do that, nothing like that! I’m not _special_. I am so the opposite of special, I-I just—“

“No. You are special, and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.” The zookeeper urged, his expression hardening. 

“No! I’m not! I’m not- I can’t- I’ve never been-“ Harry protested. 

“You are and you can. Trust me. You’re special. People will try to tell you that you’re not, that all crazy stuff that happens around you is just a fluke, your family, they will try to dismiss it as coincidences and—“

“No.” Harry protested weakly one last time. And then, like the sun rising over the mountains, realization dawned on him. “No.” His stomach was rising up into his throat. “No, they know. They _know._ They never- they _know_ it’s me.” Every single time something strange seemed to happen around him, even when Harry tried to insist that he hadn’t done anything, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always seemed to place the blame on him. All this time he thought he was being punished for things that he hadn’t even done. But he _had_ done them. At least that’s what this stranger was saying. Harry swayed and backed up into the stall, sitting back down on the toilet seat. Harry looked up at the zookeeper.“W-what do I…H-how do I get it to _stop_?” he whispered, eyes wide.

The man looked at the young boy, bewildered. He followed him slowly into the stall, shrugging off his flannel shirt and wrapping it around Harry’s shoulders. “What do you mean ‘they know it's me?’Why would you want—hey, it’s going to be okay, what’s wrong-“

“WHERE ARE YOU, BOY!”

Suddenly, the large lavatory door slammed open, the wall shaking with the force of the blow. Harry flinched and let out a startled yelp, falling to the ground of the stall. An echoing shout filled the small room and Harry cowered at the sound of it. 

“BOY! WHERE ARE YOU?! WHEN I FIND YOU—“ The sound of heavy footsteps filled the small restroom, and water splashed as Uncle Vernon stomped over to the bathroom stalls.

_Slam!_

“WHEN I FIND YOU, YOU ARE GOING TO WISH THAT YOU WERE NEVER EVEN BORN!”

The frames of the metal bathroom stalls vibrated as Uncle Vernon flung open the first bathroom stall, five stalls to the right of the one Harry currently hid in.

_Slam!_

The bathroom vibrated again. Both Harry and Leonel were frozen in the handicap stall, the farthest stall away from the door, but Uncle Vernon was quickly approaching their stall. The zookeeper whipped around and knelt next to Harry.  

“Look, kid, I’m gonna get us out of here but you are gonna have to trust me,” Leonel whispered urgently. 

“WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE FREAK!” Uncle Vernon bellowed, throwing another stall door open.

_Slam!_

“How?!” Harry whispered back. One of the toilet paper rolls fell off the shelf and tumbled to the floor, spinning. Uncle Vernon was three stalls away from them. 

_Slam!_

“Just trust me.” 

_Slam!_

One door away. Harry’s breath caught in his throat. What on earth could the zookeeper do to get away from Uncle Vernon? Nothing, that’s what. Unless all this hocus pocus really was real, and more powerful than he thought. Harry didn’t really _want_ to trust the stranger, but, then again, what other choice did he have?

“Okay,” Harry whispered reluctantly, inching forward. The zookeeper’s eyes hardened with resolve and he held out one of his arms for Harry. Leonel smiled softly at Harry's bewildered look.

“Hold on to my arm, and don’t let go, no matter what.” 

Harry stared at the man's outstretched arm, but there was no time for second-guessing. They were out of time. The stall door began to open. 

And Harry took hold of the Zookeeper's outstretched arm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry J.K Rowling I literally stole like half of the zoo scene from you. So sad, too bad. But I ain't changing my format to make it be like "oh no these specific scenes are stolen." I know some people who put either quotes around the stuff they stole but, we all know that they are stolen so why make it hard to read?
> 
> Literally from here on out the entire timeline changes and so it's not like I'm stealing anything else. If you don't like OCs, then this is not the fic for you. (but who doesn't like OCs idk just putting that out there)
> 
>  
> 
> Oh and shoutout to flamethrower and Aeternum who inspired me to write this. Specifically, 'Of a linear Circle' where Harry Potter goes missing after just before 5th year and everyone freaks out. I was like 'yo, i got an idea.' 
> 
> Now Harry Potter goes missing much younger and honestly, in my opinion? It's hilarious. Dumbledore is gonna be like "ITS THE DEATH EATERS" when literally its just some muggle-born kids who are like 'what up? magic? cool' Flamethrower, its literally if Jade stole Harry Potter.
> 
> Also, I learned so much about boa constrictors researching the dialogue for the zookeeper scene. So much research for such little dialogue.


	2. Welcome

It was the worst feeling in the world. It was like being rolled up like a really thin piece of Play-Doh, it was like his very own skin was suffocating him, like being sucked up a vacuum cleaner, it felt like the air inside Harry’s lungs was being forcibly pulled up and out of Harry’s throat, his eye sockets pushed in until they were about to explode-

And just like that, it was over. 

Harry’s feet touched the ground, and the feeling stopped. Fresh air filled his lungs and despite the fact that it smelled like rubbish, he never felt happier in his life.

He immediately bent over and vomited out all of the contents of his stomach. 

“Oh my god, I am _so_ sorry- I didn’t think—I should’ve warned you that it was going to feel weird.” Leonel was frantically saying. Harry looked up and was hit by a spell of dizziness. It was too bright, why was it so bright all of a sudden?

Harry covered his face with his hand and bent over, sinking to his knees, feeling dizzy and sick. Leaning over, he put a hand over his mouth and nose in hopes of blocking out the foul smell. Why did the ground look different? But Harry had no time to ponder it, as he felt a hand on his back, and he instinctually flinched backwards. 

Leonel instantly had his hands raised in a placating gesture, “Whoa, whoa, kid, you’re safe.” He backed up, giving Harry some room, and offering a guilty look, “I’m sorry. I won’t touch you, I didn’t mean to…”

Harry forced himself to relax, cursing himself for his reaction, and rubbed at his eyes, willing for the spots dancing in his eyes to go away. When his vision finally cleared, he could see that they were no longer in the zoo’s lavatory. No, they weren’t even _at_ the zoo anymore. They were outside in some sort of back alley, with a large skip bin right off to the side of them, overflowing with rubbish. 

“Are you okay?” Leonel asked, and when Harry turned to face him, he could see that the man was genuinely worried. The man didn’t look sick at all, and in fact, looked more concerned about Harry than himself. 

“How did you—” Harry stopped himself as he felt another wave of nausea come over him. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he forced his mouth shut and willed himself not to throw up. God, he got vomit on his shoes, the shoes that Dudley had outgrown and Aunt Petunia had given to him. Oh god, she was going to _kill_ him, make him scrub them until they were clean—

“Hey, hey, kid, hey, everything is okay.” Harry looked up and found Leonel kneeling in front of him. “I’m sorry. I should have…I would have warned you what I was going to do, but there was no time. I didn’t think, I just, with him banging all the bathroom doors open and such…” 

The young man trailed off, seemingly lost for words on what to say, but Harry understood. Harry didn’t know what Uncle Vernon would’ve done if he had found him. He had _never_ seen him this angry before in public. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia really cared about their public image and their reputation, so, usually, when something strange or ‘magical’ happened out in public, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon tried to ignore it was happening, tried to explain it away for everyone around them. They normally didn’t even react until they all got home or until they all got into the car. 

An open hand entered Harry’s vision, and the boy stared at it for a moment. He looked up and shot an agitated glare in the direction of the man, whose expression was still furrowed in one of concern. “How do I know you won’t do that suction tube thingy again?” Harry spat, daring the man to snap back. 

But he didn’t snap or snark or yell at Harry. Instead, the man’s eyebrows leapt upward, before furrowing back down, creating deep creases in his forehead. “I won’t. I won’t do it again without telling you.” Leonel promised softly. 

Harry glanced warily once again at the man’s hand and reached out cautiously. He took Leonel’s hand and let himself be pulled off the ground. 

“Where are we? What was that thing?” He asked, looking around, “Was that like some sort of teleportation, like on that one television show? Doctor What?” Harry wasn’t allowed to watch television at home, but once, when Mrs Figg babysat him, she had let him watch a strange show about an alien man in a blue phone box that could travel in outer space.

“More or less,” Leonel shrugged, “We kinda just call it the ‘pop away’. Makes it sound less scientific and more magicky,” He said, wiggling his fingers for effect, “As for where we are, we are currently in the city of Slough, in the county of Berkshire.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. “But- that’s almost a full hour away from Little Whinging!” 

“Well, by car. For me, it takes about less than a second.” Leonel replied, turning on his heel and stalking out to the opening of the alley. The man was beginning to say something but Harry was barely listening. Were the Dursely’s still looking for him, at the zoo? What would they do when they realized that he was no longer there? Would they even care if he went missing and never returned? If he did return, what kind of punishment would be waiting—

“Hey, kid.” 

Harry looked up and found Leonel standing by the mouth of the alley, scratching the back of his neck, looking off to the side. 

“Listen,” The young man said, “You don’t have to go back to your family right away. You know that, right? I live around here, my place is only a few blocks away. I don’t really, I don’t really know how to handle situations like this. But, my roommate Valli, she would know what to do. She’s good with stuff like this,” Leonel looked back towards Harry, his eyes much more confident. “She’s a magician just like me and you.” 

Harry found himself focused on the rip in his t-shirt, playing with the frayed edges of the fabric. The truth was, he didn’t want to go back. He didn’t want to face Uncle Vernon and Dudley and Aunt Petunia. He wanted to meet more people, more magicians like him. He wanted to see more and he wanted to learn more. Maybe they could teach him so that even if he was forced to go back to the Dursely’s, he could learn enough to control his magic so it wouldn’t get him in trouble anymore. He could learn to defend himself properly. 

He wanted to go but at the same time…he was scared. This man thought that Harry was a magician, but what if it ended up that Harry wasn’t one? What if it really was all accidents like Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon said? What if Harry really wasn’t special?

The man seemed to pick up on some of Harry’s emotions, as his face scrunched up, once again, “I won’t force you. It’s your decision. We can go straight back to the Zoo at anytime—“

“No!” Harry protested, his head jerking upward. “I…I want to. I want to go…I don’t want to go back to the zoo.” 

Leonel stared at Harry, searching his face for something, before nodding.“Alright,” He said, “we're gonna work this out, don’t worry.” Harry ducked his head, suddenly feeling embarrassed for some reason, but nodded to make sure that the man knew that he had heard him. 

Leonel led Harry out of the alley, through a chain-linked fence, and into the street. It was more of another back alley than a real street, but it was away from the skip, and that was all Harry cared about. Across the street lay a large parking garage and noisy construction site. 

“Usually, when we do the ‘pop away’, we land in a spot like this to avoid suspicion.” The man explained, turning down the road and gesturing Harry to follow. “The house is only about three and a half blocks away.”  


Harry quickly fell in place alongside the other magician. As they walked, Harry found himself desperate to ask about magic. Aunt Petunia didn’t like it when he asked questions, but Leonel didn’t seem to mind. 

“How does it work? Can you go anywhere in the world?” Harry asked slowly, watching the man’s face for signs of agitation.   
  
“Yes, and no,” Leonel replied, glancing back, ”I can go anywhere I’ve been before, all I have to do is imagine myself in a place and, well, it’s a bit difficult to explain, I guess.”

“Can you pop into houses?” Harry asked, as they turned right on the next corner, and started down a new road, labelled as ‘Wellington St.’

"Sure, why not?"

“Then why didn’t you just pop right into your house?” 

“Er, well,” Leonel stammered,“I guess because I wasn’t _planning_ on going to my house? I was gonna go to lunch, maybe buy some extra birdseed for Tina….and then go back to work.” There was an awkward pause in the conversation as the man looked down at his zoo uniform forlornly. “That was the first location that came to mind, and I just jumped to it. I didn’t really think about it.” 

They elapsed into silence after that, stopping at a crosswalk and waiting for cars to pass. The buildings around them had begun to get shorter and shorter, Harry observed, the shops getting far and in between. 

“Can you teach me how to do it?” Harry blurted out.  
  
“Huh?”

“The pop away.” 

Leonel smiled, two dimples appearing at the corners of his mouth.“Sure, it’s kinda easy once you get the hang of it.”

Soon, the downtown of Slough disappeared completely, and they entered a group of suburban houses, which reminded him a bit of Little Whinging, if a bit less snobby. Leonel turned off the main road and onto a side road labelled as ‘Belgrave Road,’ passing five different houses, before stopping abruptly near the end of the drive.

The house was similar to the other houses on its street, but unlike the others, it was detached from the other houses on the street, and there were clear signs of age to the dwelling. Vines climbed the front of the house, covering dark red bricks and yellow stained windows. The roof sagged under the weight of itself and it seemed as if some portion of the roof had been replaced recently. It was surprisingly…normal. 

“This is it?” Harry asked warily. Seemingly oblivious to Harry’s caution, Leonel smiled up at the house.  
  
“Welcome to 27 Belgrave Road,” He replied, walking forward to unlatch the gate, and swinging it open. “It’s not much, but its something.”

Harry followed the man up the walk, up to the front stoop, and to the front door. Leonel reached to out to touch the door handle, tapping it twice with his index finger. There was a sound of a ‘click’ and Leonel turned the handle, letting them both inside. 

The interior of the house was even less like Privet Drive. The walls were painted a bright yellow colour, the paint job chipping away to reveal a lower blue layer. Thick off-white carpeting lined the stairs leading up to the second floor, but the rest of the downstairs floor consisted of dark hardwood floors. There was no welcome mat, instead, a small green bathmat laid down on the floor next to a pile of assorted shoes and socks. 

“Leo?”

Harry’s head snapped to the right and found a woman with long, wavy black hair and copper brown skin, sitting on a flowery green sofa. In front of her was a coffee table stacked with paperwork, all sorted into neat, organized piles. 

“Val, can I speak with you really quick?” Leonel said, stepping slightly forward in front of Harry, “In private?”

The woman stared at Leonel, but then her gaze quickly landed on Harry. She bit her lower lip before nodding slowly. 

“Alright,” She said, rising from her place on the sofa, setting down the paper she had been working on. “Do you want to talk in the kitchen or the garden?” 

Leo swallowed, glancing guiltily towards Harry, “Would you be all right if we talked in the garden? I just need to explain to her what’s going on. You can sit in the kitchen if you want.” 

Harry shrugged, looking off to the side. Leonel looked mildly conflicted, as if he wanted to say something more, but then nodded reluctantly. 

Valli turned, walking down the hall and further into the house. Leonel followed after her, quickly glancing back and gesturing towards Harry to do the same. 

The kitchen was small but cheerful. The walls were painted a deep orange colour, and the counters were covered with bright white plastic tiles. A short refrigerator sat tucked in the corner of the room, with a calendar posted to the front of it. To the side was a small dining area, consisting of a rectangular table, and three wooden chairs. Above the table hung a metal light fixture, which flickered on when Valli tapped the light switch on the side of the wall. 

“Do you want anything to eat?” She asked, opening the refrigerator, but Harry just shrugged again. Valli looked at Harry critically before rifling through the fridge again. She pulled out a carton of raspberries and a bottle of water and put down on the table. 

“If you want anything else, you are free to look through the kitchen. If you can’t reach something, just ask either one of us to get it for you…we are just going to be right outside.” She said gesturing towards the door leading to the back of the house. Harry nodded, mumbling a quick thanks in her direction before sitting down at the table.

Valli stared at Harry, her eyebrows scrunched together. She glanced towards Leonel and shot him an indecipherable look, but Leonel just offered back a barely perceptual shake of the head. Casting one last glance towards Harry, Valli walked out the back door and into the garden. 

“I’ll be right back,” Leonel said to Harry, “I just need to explain…I’ll be quick. Quick as a cucumber. Quicker than a harp—er….yeah.”

And then he was gone out the back door as well. 

Harry sighed, focusing on the water bottle and carton of raspberries in front of him. Opening the lid to the carton, he popped a single raspberry into his mouth. It tasted oddly tart, and he liked the texture of it. He still felt a little nauseous, but the water helped. Out the back door, Harry could barely hear Leonel and Valli, their voices rising and falling in a heated conversation. 

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen swung open. Harry turned, nearly knocking his water bottle over, and found a boy carrying two large grocery bags standing in the entrance. He was taller than Harry, with short black hair and dark expressive eyes. If Dudley were there, he wouldmost likely be calling this boy a ‘chink.’ And if Aunt Petunia were there, she would politely correct Dudley and tell him that, ‘The correct term is _oriental,_ Dudlekins.’

But neither Dudley nor Petunia Dursley were there, and Harry did not use either of those words. Instead, he sat there and stared at the boy, unsure what to do, as the boy stared back at him. The boy looked past Harry when Leonel and Valli’s voices rose once again from the garden and his brow furrowed. Eying Harry suspiciously, he slammed the groceries he had been carrying onto the kitchen counter and stalked out through the back door. 

“Why is there a kid sitting in our kitchen?” Harry heard before the back door slammed shut again. 

For a moment the conversation outside went very quiet, before erupting into a series of shouts. Harry got up from his place at the table and quietly walked over to the back door, opening it just a smidge. 

“Alex, don’t you think you’re being a just a little hypocritical?” Leo was saying. 

“No. I’m being realistic.” Replied the voice of the boy. “God, what were you even thinking, Leo?” 

“I was thinking ‘holy crap I need to get this kid out here,’ that’s what I was thinking! I saw something was wrong and I acted on it.”

“The world doesn’t work like that!” The boy named Alex fumed, “You can’t just go kidnapping kids willy-nilly! The kid’s parents are going to alert the police and then the police will arrest us-“

“We won’t get arrested,” Leonel interrupted, "They don’t even know that I was the one who took him. And even if they do find out, we can just pop away-"

“To where? Are you really gonna risk all of us for the sake of a kid you barely know?”

“He’s like us, Alex. I saw him, he made the glass disappear and he talked to the boa—“

“I don’t care if he’s like us, he needs to go back! ”

“Well, good thing that the decision is not up to you,” Valli replied curtly. 

“You can’t decide this without me! You can’t suddenly bring some kid to our house and say, ‘Oh come on inside, you can stay here!’ You think his parents are just gonna forget about him? Just say, ‘Oh well, our child is missing. Too bad. Ta ta.’”

“They’re not my parents.” Harry interrupted. Instantly, there was silence. Harry opened the door fully and found three faces staring up at him. Leonel's mouth was turned into a grimace, and the boy named Alex was glaring intensely up at him. Valli stood farthest away, her brow knitted together with concern. 

“My parents are dead. I live with my Aunt and Uncle.” Harry clarified, and Leonel’s guilty expression somehow became even guiltier. Alex’s eyes widened briefly in shock, before narrowing again under a glare. 

“So, what? Your parents are dead? Well, guess what. So are my parents. And so are his parents.” Alex snapped, pointing a finger at Leonel. “It doesn’t make you special.”

“Alex!” Leonel exclaimed.

“Alex, that is enough,” Valli warned, her voice stern. 

Alex looked between the two of them, nose scrunched up and eyes narrowed. Finally, he huffed and looked off to the side. “Forget it. You don’t care what I have to say anyway. Have fun in jail. You can rot there for all I care."  
  
And with that, he turned away from them and stalked up the steps of the house and towards Harry. Harry had a brief moment of panic where he thought of Dudley and all the times he had been pummeled by him. But Alex just pushed past him and went into the house, not even casting a glance in his direction.

Leonel and Valli were quiet for a moment, tension thick in the air. Then, Valli let out a deep sigh.

“I apologize for Alex’s behaviour. He’s just…’angry’ I guess isn’t quite the right word. It does not cover the complexity of the situation.” Valli said, looking up towards one of the upper floor windows.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Leonel said, beginning to walk back up the steps and toward the house. 

“No,” Valli said, making Leonel stop halfway up the steps, glancing back towards her. “Let him have his space. We need to talk to Harry about what is happening, and what we are going to do next. We will deal with Alex later.”

Leonel nodded, his expression still pinched in worry. He then turned and continued up the steps going into the kitchen. Harry followed quickly behind, entering the kitchen just in time to see Leonel putting away the carton of raspberries. 

“Would you like to sit down?” Valli asked from behind him, pulling out a chair, “This might be a long conversation.” 

Harry swallowed and nodded in understanding. Leonel sat down next to him, and Valli sat across from him. Neither of them said anything for a minute, and Harry’s anxiety built into something close to fear. He didn’t really know what this was all about. Yes, he knew the general gist of what they wanted to talk about. But that didn't explain why they were acting so...weird about it. 

“How are you feeling?” Valli asked, and Harry blinked. He shrugged, but neither Valli nor Leonel asked any more questions, and he quickly realized that they were waiting for him to vocalize an answer.

“I’m alright, I guess.” He mumbled. Valli waited for him to expand on his answer, but when it became clear that he wouldn't be doing so, she just nodded. 

“Leo told me some things that happened at the zoo. I understand that you don’t know me, and you may not want to talk about it. But I would like to hear your side of the story of what happened. Is that all right?” 

“You won’t be punished for anything you say.” Valli continued, “You have done nothing wrong. We just want to hear what happened. Even if something you say sounds absolutely crazy, we want to hear it.”

“We kinda do crazy around here.” Leonel said with a lazy smile, “Crazy is encouraged.”  
  
Valli glanced towards Leonel, raising one judgmental eyebrow before turning her gaze back on Harry.

“I don’t know where to start,” Harry said, ducking his head in embarrassment, studying the side of the table instead. He could see now that, upon inspection, there were little symbols scratched onto the underneath of the table. Some symbols wrapping themselves around the hem of the table, others crawling down its legs. 

“How 'bout you start when you wake up?” Leonel suggested, causing Harry’s head to snap upward to look at him. “What was the first thing you did in the morning? That will give us some context and make it so that you don’t have to start right in the thick of things.” 

That sort of made sense, Harry thought. Maybe explaining everything would be easier if he started from the beginning. He didn't really know if he could explain it well, though. But he would try. 

And so, opening his mouth:

Harry began to talk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all, I’m not gonna be updating for a while because I’ve decided to write the entire thing first before updating. I’m about 3/4ths done with it, so check in later!!


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